Trolley-pole.



PATENTBD SEPT. 29, 1903,

P. P. KING.

TROLLEY POLE. vAPPLnm'Hoxsr Hmm AUG. 23, 1902.y

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

PATENTED SEPT. 29, 1903.

y No. 740.144.

P. E', KING. TROLLBYPOLB'.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 23, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

' on the overhead wire, and should said Wheel 1 stantially the position it is in when said wheel UNITED STATES fPatented September 29, 1903. PATENT OFFICE.

' PHIVNEAS F. KING, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES H. TUCKER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO'.

TRO LLEY-PO E E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 740,144, vtia/tea september 29, 1903.

A ppiicanon nea algun z3. 1902.

To @Z5 whom t may concern: y

Be it known that LPHINEAS F. KING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley-Poles; and Ido hereby declare that the `following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to trolley-poles used on electric-railway cars; and the object ot' the invention is to provide a trolley-polesoconstructed that when in operation there will be a constant and equal pressure Vof the trolley-wheel become disengaged from. the wire (which frequently happens) the pole will remain in'subleaves the wire and at the same time readily admit of its being brought into contact adjustment with the wire by the conductor in the ordinary manner.

With these objects in View the invention consists of the construction and combination of the parts hereinafterdescribcdmd pointed out definitely in the claims.

In the drawings forming a part of this specitication, Figure I is a side elevation of a portion of a car, showing the im proved trolleypole attached thereto, with the Wheel in contact with the overhead wire. Fig. Il is a side elevation of the improved pole detached. Fig. III is a front elevation of thesame. Fig. IV is a detail view of the lower end of the pole, showinga cam thereon, which is a preferable form of construction, as will be fully explained farther jon. Fig. V illustrates a modified construction. Fig. VI shows another tnodiiied construction wherein the ordinary spiral spring now in use is applied.

Similar letters of reference designate similar parts in drawings and 'speciiicatiom It is well known to all familiar with electric railways employing the overhead system that a great amount of damage is caused by the trolley-wheel leaving the wire and under pressure ot' the vspring throwing the pole into a perpendicular position and causing said pole to come into contact with the cross-wires or other obstacles, and thereby either bend and distort the pole or break said cross-wires,

causing danger to the public from the falling Serial No. 120,830. (No model.)

of theoverhead wires and a blocking-of the cars on the line necessitated by the breaking Vof the supporting-Wires.l

It will be readily understood from the following description of myinvention that these undesirable features of the overhead-trolley system are practically` eliminated.

In the drawings, A represents a railwaycar of the ordinary type.

B is a housing pivotally connected to the plate C, which is secured to the roof of the car. In the preferred form of construction (shown in Figs. I, ll, and Ill) the housingB is provided with two segmental 4racks b and the trolley-pole D is pivotcd in said housing at d, the center of the segmental racks.

E represents a pawl pivoted to the trolleypole at e and adapted to engage the two segmental racks b under pressure of the spring f. Extending forward from the housing Bis an arm G, to which is attached a flat spring g, the free end of which bears on the under side of a cam-foot d of the trolley-pole. The arm G is rigid with the housing B, and therefore is free to revolve therewith. The upper portion D2 of the trolley-pole is connected.

I have now described' the preferred construction of the improved trolley-pole and will proceed to explain the operation of saine, following with a description offthe modified forms embodying the same general principle.

In the construction hereinbefore described the trolley-wheel u; under pressure of the spring f on the cam-foot of the trolley-pole is kept in contact with the wire t, said pressure causing the pawl E to be disengaged from the segmental racks through the action of the bell-crank lever and the rod i. Now should the trolley-wheel leave the wire the spring s immediately causes the forward end of the pawl E to disengage the teeth of the rack b, and thereby hold the pole in sub- IOO stantially the position it is in when the Wheel leaves the wire. The trolley-wheel w cannot leave the wire t unless it is for some cause or other thrown down a greater distance than the depth of the groove in said wheel, in which case thecounteracting pressure of the trolley-Wire on said wheel is removed and the pawl E will engage the rack b and hold the pole below the trolley-Wire, and should said pole come'in contact with any obstacle below the Wire the pole is forced farther down and the pawl engages the' rack in a lower position, retaining and preventing said pole from assuming an upright position until the pawl is released from the rack by the cord H, when the trolley-Wheel can be freely brought into contact with the wireA in the ordinary manuel'.

It will readily be seen that while the Wheel w is in contact with the overhead wirev the pawl is out of engagement with segmental rack, and said Wheel under pressure of the spring g is free to follow in contact with said wire throughout all its undulations.

The foregoing-described construction is the preferable form, as the iiat spring g maintains a positive and equal pressure on the trolley-wheel on the trolley-wire at all angles.

In Figs. V and VI, I have illustrated modified forms of construction embodying the same general principle.

ln Fig. V a serrated rack Z2 is used, and a serrated cam E is adapted to engage therewith.

Fig. VI illustrates the device with the ordinary spiral spring in common use connected therewith. The invention will admit of other minor dilferences in details of construction without departing from the nature and scope of the invention-as, for example, the placing of the rackon the interior ot' the segment and adjusting the pawl so that it will engage therewith.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a trolley-pole in combination with a revolving frame, provided with a ratchetsegment, a pole pivoted in said frame, a pawl pivoted to said pole and arranged to engage said segment, said pole consisting of two portions hinged together, a rearwardly-extending arm rigidly secured to the upper portion, a rod connecting said arm and said pawl whereby said pawl maybe thrown out of engagementA with said segment when the upper portion of said trolley is operated upon its hinge, and a spring 'tending to throw said `pawl into engagement with said segment.

2. A trolley-pole pivoted in a frame attached to the car, a spring-pawl pivoted to said trolley-pole and adapted to engage segmental racks, said segmental racks to be a part of said frame and having their radial centers at the pivotal point of the trolleypole, the upper portion of the trolley-pole being in the form of a bell-crank lever and hinged tothe lower portion, the upper arm of said bell-crank lever carrying the trolleywheel and the lower arm extending rearwardly and connected by a rod with the rear of the pawl whereby rearward motion of the upper portion of the trolley-pole will disengage the pawl from the segmental rack, a spring acting on said trolley-pole whereby contact-pressure is maintained between thel trolley-wheel and Ithe trolley-wire, and means for releasing the pawl from the rack independently of the bell-crank lever, substantially as described.

3. In a trolley-pole the combination of the pole proper, made up oi' two sections hinged together, the upper section being in the form of a bell-crank lever, a frame swiveled to the top of the car, two segmental racks carried by said frame, the trolley-pole pivoted at the radial centers of said racks, a pawlpivoted to the pole and adapted, under spring-pressure to engage said racks, a rod connecting the free arm ot' the bell-crank lever with the rear of the pawl, a cord connected with the frontend of the pawl and passing over a pulley on said pole and a spring acting on the lower end of the pole whereby the wheel is kept in contact with the trolley-wire, substantially as described.

, In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

PIIINEAS F. KING.

Witnesses:

C. H. TUCKER, L. F. GRIsWoLD. 

